A/N: For real, guys, I promise I'm trying. No jokes, I'm seriously working on updates. In the meantime, this is a little drabble I wrote....

Damn Near Close

The bell rang and Sasuke stood, slipping his books into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Moving quietly through the students streaming for the door, he made his way down the hall and out onto the crowded school grounds.

Before he'd had time to sit down, a familiar voice shouted, "Sasuke!" and he glanced up. A blond-haired, blue-eyed someone was waving enthusiastically from the school gates. He was wearing a faded orange jumpsuit, the sleeves tied around his waist, and a black shirt. He was also still wearing his thick work gloves, so he'd probably come straight from his shift at the garage.

"Who is that?"

Sasuke turned. A small group of people next to him, students from his last class, were muttering to each other, coldly eyeing Naruto with identical looks of disdain. Catching his eye, one of them faced the Uchiha and asked, "Do you know him, Sasuke?"

When Sasuke only regarded him with cold disinterest, his peer continued hastily, "Not that you would know someone like him--I only figured, since he knew your name--of course you wouldn't know him, out of the question...."

Sasuke paid him no more attention, glancing back over in Naruto's direction. The blond was running towards him, a grin spread wide across his scarred face. In the beginning, Sasuke had always been a little taken-aback at the blond's almost determined cheerfulness. His life, when they met, was more or less a wreck--but he was still the happiest person Sasuke had ever known.

Sasuke had come to depend on that radiant energy, that irrepressible glow; no matter how bad his day was, how dark his thoughts were, he could always count on Naruto to show up at his door with a goofy smile and a thousand things to say.

"I know him," Sasuke said quietly, facing the group with dark eyes.

They blinked, turning to glance at him, and the boy said, "But, he's--"

Sasuke reached out to pull Naruto--who'd trotted the last few steps to join him--to his side, wrapping an arm around the scarred boy's waist. "He's my boyfriend," the Uchiha cut in with a ringing note of finality. They gaped, nonplussed, and Sasuke allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk.

Naruto, not questioning any of this, leaned into Sasuke and peered up at him. "I missed you!" he said happily, bright eyes filled with the sincerest pleasure. Sasuke felt his smirk melt into something softer and he kissed the top of Naruto's head.

"You ready to go?" the dark-haired boy asked, pulling back slightly.

"Yeah! I asked for a double-shift and worked through lunch so I could take the weekend off to come see you," Naruto said bubbly, following when Sasuke began to walk toward the gates and taking his hand. "I'm starving."

Sasuke smiled slightly, tightening his fingers around Naruto's and slowing his stride. When it was for him, Sasuke was content to go slow. He was ready to do most anything.

Life wasn't perfect, and it never would be. But nowadays, it was damn near close.

End.